ROBOTING BEHIND BARS!

Are
Bartenders' days numbered? Bartending has just got
a booster of sorts as British and Japanese
researchers have developed a robot that may give
bartenders a run for their money. And soon.

The robot called Mr.
Asahi can pull pints, pour drinks and open bottles
at high speed without asking for orders to be
repeated, says an ANI report. It has been named
after the Japanese beer company Asahi, that is
looking after it on its US tour these days.

Mr. Asahi's creators
used the latest robotic technology to make it, and
it took eight engineers and 200 man-hours to
assemble. The robot's movements involve
animatronics, usually used in film special
effects, with compressed air controlled and
regulated through valves and switching mechanisms.

Hardware concealed under
Mr. Asahi's revolving bar top drives him and a
barrel of beer, meaning that the robot weighs a
quarter of a ton. Its makers claim that it can
consistently serve people in less than two
minutes.